Garcia de Orta and his revolutionary Colóquio dos Simples e Drogas e Coisas Medicinais da Índia, with Rui Loureiro
Rui Loureiro gives us a lesson on the life and work of Garcia de Orta, from his education in Spain to his experiences over more than three decades in the East, where he wrote Colóquio dos Simples e Drogas e Coisas Medicinais da Índia. The work was published in Goa in 1563 and had a major impact in Europe due to its content on the political history, geography, trade, precious stones, botany and fauna of Asia, and was even the first text to describe cases of cholera. Orta – who left Portugal due to the growing animosity towards New Christians – spoke to countless travellers and, combining the information he gathered with his own study and experience, prepared his Colóquios dos Simples. This was because "he found that the treatises published in Europe up to that point did not convey accurate, adequate and up-to-date information", explains Rui Loureiro. The interview was conducted by José Alberto Catalão.
Rui Loureiro is a researcher at CHAM and a lecturer at the Manuel Teixeira Gomes Higher Institute (ISMAT) in Portimão. He is a member of the Navy Academy. He holds a PhD in History and is the author of over a hundred publications on the history of Portugal and Spain's relations with Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries. His most recent works include editions of Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas e Coisas Medicinais da Índia by Garcia de Orta (in collaboration with Teresa Nobre de Carvalho); Tratado das Coisas da China by Friar Gaspar da Cruz; and Itinerário da Índia por Terra a este Reino de Portugal by António Tenreiro.
In the next episode, Mariana Boscariol explains the concept of "Global History" in the section "A brief introduction to...".
The theme tune for “CHAM Talks, a podcast for listening to science” uses “Bike Sharing To Paradise” by Dan Bordan (copyright-free).
Coordination
Isabel Araújo Branco (CHAM)
Organization
CHAM / NOVA FCSH
